The invention relates to a spacer for insulating glass panes, as they are used frequently in the manufacture of windows, doors, facade elements, etc.
The spacer typically comprises a profile body configured as a closed hollow profile, which is substantially rectangular in cross section, wherein the profile body has a first and a second side wall arranged in parallel to each other and spaced apart from each other, an inner wall extending between the first and second side walls, and an outer wall extending from the first to the second side wall. The outer wall is spaced apart from the inner wall and has a first wall section aligned substantially in parallel to the inner wall, and second and third wall sections arranged on both sides of the first wall section, which, seen in cross section perpendicular to the axial direction of the profile body, are aligned at an obtuse angle to the first wall section and the respective adjacent side wall, and connect thereon. At least the inner wall, the first and the second side wall, and the second and third wall sections of the outer wall are made from a first plastics material. The spacer further has an integral, primary reinforcing element, which is configured as a vapor diffusion barrier, extending from the first side wall over the outer wall to the second side wall.
Spacers for insulating glass panes of this kind are disclosed in the prior at, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,719,728, WO 2014/005950 A1, and in DE 10 2010 049806 A1.
There is often the requirement of being able to form the spacers for insulating glass panes to a frame in a cold bending method, wherein the external geometry in the case of the thusly formed corner regions of the frame, in particular in the region of the side walls, should remain as unchanged as possible, such that a precise abutment of the spacers with the side walls on the glass panes of the insulating glass panes may be ensured.
Furthermore, it is of importance to design the profile body such that the interspace between the panes present in the insulating glass panes is able to be kept substantially free of water vapor, and thus condensation effects in the case of large differences between the indoor and outdoor temperature may be avoided. For this purpose, the spacers are filled in their hollow profile with desiccant, for example, for which only a limited volume is available, however, such that the gas-tight, in particular moisture-tight, sealing of the interspace between the panes against the environment by way of the spacer is of crucial importance.
Moreover, a certain mechanical stability is required by the spacers, so that they may be processed in a simple manner using conventional cold bending methods.
The spacers in accordance with the invention are used, as disclosed in the prior art, for the improvement of the heat insulation in insulating glass panes of windows, doors, facade elements, and the like, in place of the previously common metal spacers, in order to keep the glass panes spaced apart.
The bendability for the production of the frames, on the one hand, but also the longitudinal stability of the spacers, on the other, are of great importance during processing.
The object of the present invention is to propose a spacer that is able to be deformed in particular in the cold bending method using conventional equipment, offers a greatest possible heat transmission resistance, and moreover may be produced economically.